Does NATO Need a Blockchain?

Abstract

Distributed ledgers and blockchains have been heralded as a new and universally applicable architecture for management of trust. In this article we investigate what are the possible advantages of using distributed ledger technology within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations and what are possible use cases for such use. We also analyze different types of distributed ledgers proposed in the literature in respect to their applicability in context of federated military operations. Finally, we describe in more detail a specific use case, related to use of blockchain as new approach to implementing trusted binding mechanism for detached labels as stipulated in the NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4778, which is now undergoing a ratification process within NATO.